A Letter From Dr. Tennies, Our Principal
Greetings from the T!
As I have grown older, it has become clear that challenges in life make us stronger.
On Christmas Eve, cozy in my pajamas, and heating hot chocolate at home, I received a call from the head of FCS facilities. I had hoped he was calling to wish us a happy holiday, but instead he shared news about a water pipe in the media center. Like so many other homes and businesses in our area the cold weather created a busted pipe. Luckily, this triggered our fire alarm and Fire Station 8 was quickly on the scene. They saved thousands of materials, technology, and books in their time inside the building.
As I walked into our school that night, I saw the challenge ahead of us. I was grateful for the fast response of our firefighters and facilities team, and I knew we’d come out stronger. Our team spent winter break clearing out the media center. FCS was quick to respond in ordering and replacing everything needed to open again. Mrs. Wiggins and our Pathways teachers came together with many other staff members in January. They worked tirelessly to set up a temporary space for classes and a temporary library so that checkouts could continue.
Stronger is exactly what we are going to be. Here’s how the media center will improve.
Mrs. Wiggins and a team of media specialists from our district have ordered $37,000 in new and improved books and series loved by students.
All carpet was removed, and a beautiful polished concrete flooring will replace the carpet.
Our circulation desk, which was difficult for children to see over, was removed and a new one will be installed.
Our media center will reopen again in a few more weeks. When it does, we plan to have a big celebration to showcase this new, improved area! Although this has been a challenge, we will come out stronger with our new improved area. Our media center will continue to be the heart of our school.
And once again….Together, We are Chestatee!
Sincerely,
Dr. Polly Tennies
Principal
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A Note from Nurse Kristen
Dear Families,
As we head into winter:
The main reasons for keeping your child at home are as follows:
- If he/she is too sick to be comfortable at school
- If he/she will spread a contagious illness/disease to another child
Remember: Students must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications before returning to school. Students must also be vomiting and diarrhea free for 24 hours before returning to school.
Let me know as you have questions,
Nurse Kristen
Ext. 722151
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Book Club- You're Invited!
Happy February, Families! I hope you find time to do things you love this month! One of my favorite pastimes is reading. Fiction and love stories are always at the top of my list. Colleen Hoover has become a favorite. Several of our teachers read and pass around all her books. Reading is an escape for me. I love getting lost in the story and can’t wait to turn each page to find out what happens next.
You probably have also noticed that I adore my family. I love being a mom. And although we have our challenges and being a mom is THE HARDEST job I’ve ever had, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
So this month, I’m embarking on a new adventure! I’m mixing one of my loves- being a parent with another love- reading. And together with several of our teacher leaders, we are embarking on a new idea of a book club for parents.
Brianna Hundt, our Quality Work Facilitator, who is a Chestatee mother and also works with parents, and I chose a book that we were interested in that might help us to be better parents.
If you’ve been interested in joining a book club on parenting, you are invited to join us! We’ll meet in person in the Family Resource Room 9:30-10:30 AM on Wednesdays beginning February 22. For those of you who work or have other obligations during the days, we will offer a night session on Mondays at 7:00-8:00 PM on Microsoft Teams. This will begin Monday, February 27th. You could choose what works best for you- morning or evening.
Here’s the link for more information about our first book. Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids https://a.co/d/6mdNsO4 We have several copies for checkout in the Family Resource Room or you can purchase your own for about $12.
Won’t you embark on this adventure? Both our teacher leaders and I would love for you to join us! Let me know if you’re interested!
mkillingsworth@forsyth.k12.ga.us or 770-887-2341 ext. 723002
See you soon!
Meg
Meg Killingsworth
Family Engagement Coordinator
770-887-2341 ext. 723002
Box Tops/ Soup Labels
The procedure will be changing in the near future (we will keep you posted!)
For now, keep filling out your Box Top Sheets and turn them in to Ms. Donna in the front office.
Kroger and Publix will donate money too...
Publix Partners with Chestatee also. You only need to put your phone number in as you checkout. Publix will donate a certain percentage of their profits to Chestatee from your purchase!
We love our Partners in Education!
